Recommended Tests

I looked in the testmy.net "host" database

starband.net Download Average = 488 Kbps :: 60 kB/sec
starband.net Upload Average     = 60 Kbps :: 7 kB/s

Reviews:
"I ordered the business package, which was 1.5 down/760 UP. I have been getting about 1100 up and 1200-1500 down." - AT $125 PER MONTH

"Speeds have hovered around 450/90. Not amazing, but livable. With no other broadband options available, this is the best way to ride" - AT $69 PER MONTH

"The fastest connection (for up) on their site that I could find is 256Kbps."

You asked how others compare: I have adelphia 4000/430 (or so) I dont know the price because I have a cable TV & cable internet deal at less then $60 a month I think...

If Starband is a satellite connection then you will have to ask one of the regulars.  It gets complicated with satellite.  The tweek setup is different, thats all I know.

Hmm...

I am in California, since they redirect everthing over here would I get better speeds?

I've never been a big reliant on Customer Service. Plus, I've tried calling twice and both times I've had a nice guy help me out. They spoke english without an accent and it was easy to understand them.

but as I was saying, Once I have the satellite I won't be contacting them at all (most likely). I'm a pretty smart guy when it comes to computers and I can figure stuff out on my own.

I just want my speeds to be decent.

You won't see that on Spacenet.

Just 5 minutes ago it took 4 minutes to download 17 headers with no attachments on the news server.
And then another 7 minutes to open the headers and read the text messages.


All major websites are loading at a snail's pace.

I am giving serious consideration to not paying my bill this month or any other month.
It's really difficult justifying paying almost $100.00 for a month of service that isn't any better than my 10.95 per month people pc dial up account.

I get a chucklle when I read comments like "stay away" with no details to back it up. It all depends upon what your options are and if you have none besides dial-up. Also, the exact same thing can be said about DirecWay according to some that aren't happy either. Bottom line is you must know what you are getting going into it and not expect it to be something it's not. Plus, a LOT depends upon the package you have. Both Starband and DirecWay have better performance with their most expensive package. Bottom line is that just like everything else you pay for what you get. Granted, satellite ISP is at least 3X what you would pay for a similar DSL/Cable connection. However even paying the high-end of $150/month with no contract with Starband is still a much more viable option than a T1. For example, my ONLY choices here are dial-up, satellite or T1. A fractioned 256 T1 costs $800 per month from AT&T which was the cheapest contract offer I could get. Sprint is the ONLY other service that would run a T1 for me and their contract was not as good as AT&T.

My point is, all of this boils down to what your options are and what would be reasonable in comparison to it. For me, even $150-200 would be cheap compared to a T1 option. Others may have other choices, but you must do your own research to find out exactly what your limitations are and get CONTRACT BIDS if considering T1.

Many users are VERY happy with their Starband 484 service level. It would seem from the feedback of the users I know that have it, this is the way to go. It has NO FAP and the speeds are much better than their other packages due to it being a higher tier of service and pricing.

Here is some 484 examples:

::::::::::.. Download Stats ..::::::::::
Connection is:: 1003 Kbps about 1 Mbps (tested with 1496 KB)
Download Speed is:: 122 kB/s
Tested From:: »www.testmy.net/
Test Time:: Sun Feb 6 11:11:32 EST 2005
Bottom Line:: 18X faster than 56K 1MB download in 8.39 sec
Validation Link:: »testmy.net/id-0LUA6IO7P

::::::::::.. Upload Stats ..::::::::::
Connection is:: 198 Kbps about 0.2 Mbps (tested with 2992 KB)
Upload Speed is:: 24 kB/s
Tested From:: »www.testmy.net/
Test Time:: Sun Feb 6 11:14:27 EST 2005
Bottom Line:: 4X faster than 56K 1MB upload in 42.67 sec
Validation Link:: »testmy.net/id-0TWDP4BVJ


Until Wild Blue becomes an actual viable product on the market, I would strongly consider the 484 due to the results most are getting. Once Wild Blue takes off, it will still remain to be seen how service compares but things could be interesting if they can make their claims a reality.

---

Could you please post your upload and download score with validation links and host info.... Thanks!

I get this for 59.99/month lowest package DirecWay has, equipment $500....15 month contract.

::::::::::.. Download Stats ..::::::::::
Connection is:: 1004 Kbps about 1 Mbps (tested with 1496 kB)
Download Speed is:: 123 kB/s
Tested From:: http://www.testmy.net/
Test Time:: Thu Mar 24 05:46:38 EST 2005
Bottom Line:: 18X faster than 56K 1MB download in 8.33 sec
Diagnosis: Awesome! 20% + : 21.4 % faster than the average for host (direcpc.com)
Validation Link:: http://testmy.net/stats/id-5PRIL0847

---

::::::::::.. Upload Stats ..::::::::::
Connection is:: 68 Kbps about 0.1 Mbps (tested with 97 kB)
Upload Speed is:: 8 kB/s
Tested From:: http://www.testmy.net/
Test Time:: Thu Mar 24 05:54:05 EST 2005
Bottom Line:: 1X faster than 56K 1MB upload in 128 sec
Diagnosis: Awesome! 20% + : 65.85 % faster than the average for host (direcpc.com)
Validation Link:: http://testmy.net/stats/id-3QUA9ZNT5

Your are absolutely right Vern.  I was trying to give him the benefit of the doubt.  It is apparent he is not spending his hard earned money.  Try plunking down $800.00 for equipment up front for the privilege of being under contract for additional $70.00 every month.  And then after 14 months with warranty expired having your modem go bad as many others had also.  Then to be told the replacement modem was additional $400.00!  Then, since the middle of November till now speeds throttled on newsgroups to below dial up speeds.  Then, being threatened almost daily with termination because you have no line of sight to the broken satellite they are trying to move everyone to in the middle of the winter, not knowing if you will have service tomorrow.  I could go on and on, but as mentioned it The Starband Experience is well documented in alt.starband.general, unfortunately the group is only available on Starband's server.

Mr Ranger

I wanted to reply to my last post.

Vern:

It would seem like you could be a shill too given your stance on not believing and accusing somone when the facts are not known. In case you didn't read very clearly my last post, I mentioned Wild Blue. So, to go on record I don't care what you or anyone else buys, be it Starband, DirecWay, Wild Blue or company X. Buy whatever you choose and like and I'll do the same.

What I was trying to point out is that I know 5 people with 484 Starband business accounts that are STILL getting excellent performance. I will ask for some test scores from them and post them here when I get them. Some of them are on another popular web site and a couple of others are on an overclocking site so it may take a little time. But I will try to get them posted here when possible, it may take a several weeks though since we do have other things to do.

All I can say is that I have no reason to doubth them and two I know personally. Like it or not, it does depend upon what package you have. What I'm referring to is the Starband 484 package that has already been mentioned in my previous post. The other lower end packages are having trouble at this time, but the 484 seems to be a higher priority for them to keep those customers happy.

Mr Ranger:

You said "Try plunking down $800.00 for equipment up front for the privilege of being under contract for additional $70.00 every month. "

You didn't read my last post very carefully. The price you quoted would be a drop in the bucket for me because my only other choice is a fractioned T1 that would cost $800 PER MONTH. So, the cost for equipment, setup, replacments, and monthly fees even at $150-$160 monthly with NO CONTRACT would be a very viable option for me in comparison.

What I said about Starband does NOT apply for anyone other than those with 484 accounts. I have heard of problems with the less expensive accounts  as you point out. Since you say you are paying only $70/month, then it's not a 484 account.

Even those with DirecWay report getting better performance and service from the high-end office accounts as opposed to any of their cheaper packages. While there are issues with both the 484 and DirecWay office accounts too, they are still better performance in that tier. For example, if 3xx users are reporting 70kbs, then 484 users almost always report 150+kbs. Same with DirecWay, speeds are almost always better with the higher end packages (not always, but most times).

It also depends upon your repoint, how it was installed, cables used, proper grounding, etc. Details are very important, rather than some saying simply "stay away", which is still a good chuckle (it gives no details).

Buy what you want, where you want, DirecWay, StarBand, Wild Blue or company X. I will be going 484 or Wild Blue myself this Summer and will let you know how things pan out. In the mean time, I'll try to get reports on both the 484 and DirecWay office packages and post them.

Best of luck.

Jeffery_H,

I see you posted a speed test without vaildation links or host stats?

Looking into the partial links in the test you posted it shows a host of 80.22...the average scores are listed for that host shown below. They are hardly worth $150 month to me!

Download Stats

 
Host: 80.22

80.22 Download Average = 640 Kbps :: 78 kB/sec --- 133 records found (30 days of logs)
 
 
Upload Stats

 
Host: 80.22

80.22 Upload Average = 87 Kbps :: 11 kB/s --- 25 records found (30 days of logs)
 
 
 

The almighty $    ......  its found in the business bible of greed it reads a little different than king james version.

Jeffery, listen friend, I have the service, you don't.  I use it everyday, you don't.  The service is terrible right now.  For web browsing, which is what most people do most of the time, with starband's latency which you know nothing about, dial up is faster.  If I had a dial up option available to me right now I would gladly switch back.  Starband's service right now is not worth the price.  Below is todays speed test.  Remember, newsgroups are throttled at speeds slower than 33k dial-up.  Look carefully at the speed test below which has been trpical for the last 4 months and ask around and see how many people would be willing to pay $70.00 a month.  You won't find many takers!  So that is why many Starband customer WOULD say STAY AWAY.

Mr Ranger


Your connection is: 184 Kbps      (about 0.2 Mbps)
You downloaded at: 22 kB/s
Your TRuSPEED: ^info^ 197 Kbps :: 24 kB/s (7% overhead factored)
Bottom Line: You are running: 3 times faster than 56K and can download 1 megabyte in 46.55 second(s) 
Diagnosis: May need help : running at only 54.44 % of your hosts average (4.22) 
 
Results Comparison     
 
      ::You::
      4.22 (338 Kbps)
      Typical Cable (1500 - 3000)
      Typical DSL (256 - 1500)
      Satellite (700)
      ISDN (64 - 128)
      Dial Up (28.8 - 56)
Note:Your speed should be within the blue for your connection type. If you score higher... SMILE!
     

This was tested from a 1496 kB file and was downloaded in 66.672 seconds

Jeffery,  Sorry for not being able to post Validation, for some strange reason the last few times I've ran the test a box is hanging over the results saying:  Querying / Sending Data to Database.  Therefore the box that has the link is not showing. 

I mentioned several times that my service was $70.00 a month.  A 480 can not be had at that price therefore, I have a 360, as do the overwhelming majority of their customers.  Regardless though if you have a friend that has access to alt.starband.general, if you were to spend a day or two or three reading the post over the last number of months you would find an overwhelming majority dissatisfied with Starband over the last few months.  Too, everyone is being moved to IA-7, do a Google search on that bird and you will see a very scary picture.  I certainly would not spend $800.00 for equipment and be on that bird right now.  Look and you will see that the smart companies have all left IA-7, the bird is practically empty.  The way Starband is doing business right now I would certainly not advise anyone to sign on. 

There are no issues with "my" system.  All starband subscribers service as been severely throttled.


Mr Ranger

Jeffery_H,

I showed you what the host 80.2 average is only half of what you posted. Point is the regular SB account shows about the same average scores on this test site for about 1/3 the price? Whats the other $80 or more/month to SB for?